Vengeance
by LyricsArePoetry
Summary: AU: The Doctor didn't fight in the Time War, he ran away. But the Master stay and fought, how does he act after it?
1. Chapter 1

**The Doctor never fought in the Time War but the Master did. I'm not sure all the exact details yet, but it'll probably use character seen in New Who (namely John Simm's Master and Chris Eccleston/David Tennant's Doctor and probably Rose) while ignoring most that happened in series 1-4 because it's AU. **

Vengeance  
Chapter One

The War was over and yet it wasn't, part of the Master knew that it would never really be over. His mind was still fresh full of images of the torture, the screaming, the burning, the death and destruction. He could do nothing to stop the images, bright orange flames still seemed to flicker in front of his eyes, attempting to burn his already dying body, succeeding in clouding his vision to what was really in front of him. He could still smell the horrific stench of burning flesh, could still feel the dead weight of the people he'd tried to pull to safety. But it was over. It was done. He had ended it. The planets wide destruction was over, Gallifrey had been destroyed. By him.

He stepped into his TARDIS, though _fell _may be a more fitting word, but the familiar sight was of no comfort to him. He closed his eyes in a feeble attempt to block out the images, but they just continued to play on the inside of his eyelids. He wished he could turn off his senses; stop hearing; stop smelling; stop seeing; stop feeling. He quickly became aware of the pain, the unbearable pain, the unstopping pain that covered every millimetre of his body and wouldn't let up even slightly. The pain that he didn't want to let up, the pain was all that was left of Gallifrey; it was all that was left of the destruction. It was all he had left, he hoped it would never end, it was all he knew. Everything he remembered was; pain; hurt; aching; death.

He couldn't stop the regeneration, his body forced the change upon him without his control. He screamed, the sound expressed all the emptiness and shock and pain that he was feeling, the sound perfectly mimicked the screams of those tortured and killed in the Time War. He remembered all his previous regenerations, all the times he had taken someone's body in a desperate attempt to stay alive. He had always wanting to keep on living. He could feel everything changing, his hair shortened and became a lighter colour, his whole body morphed into another he became physically younger and smaller. Everything about the way he looked changed while everything underneath remained the same.

He let out a quieter more desperate scream as the regeneration ended, once again it had not been in his control, it had just happened. He reached for the control panel to try and steady himself but he missed and fell to the floor. He was barely conscious and had no energy whatsoever. Tears pricked at his eyes as he lay there overwhelmed by everything, but he forced himself to ignore them and focus on the pain. He forced himself to focus on the way all of this made him feel; the terror; the desperation; the pain; the anger. The anger consumed him, he wanted someone to understand, he wanted someone to feel his pain. Why should _he _be the only one to feel like this?

He lost his battle with consciousness, pure exhaustion due to a timeless time spent fighting caused him to fall into a soft sleep despite all the horror and pain circling his mind. Time had no meaning in the TARDIS but he slept was a necessary amount of time. It was when he woke that he heard it first. The drumbeat. The four taps repeating over and over in his head. _Taptaptaptap, taptaptaptap, taptaptaptap. _Continuously in his head, never pausing, never stopping, just drumming. He put his hands in his ears to block it out, but it didn't stop, it was inside his head, he couldn't stop it.

He felt a hatred build up in him and he made no attempt to stop it. He hated the Daleks for causing the Time War. He hated himself for surviving it. He hated the Time Lords for not being able to stop it. He hated the other planets that got involved for their helplessness. He hated all the planets that didn't get involved for not helping. He hated everything and everyone. He wanted to hurt something, anything, _everything. _He jumped up, ignoring the light-headedness he was still feeling, and thumped the console in sheer frustration. The TARDIS gave out a little groan and the Master laughed at it. It wasn't enough, it didn't even begin to scratch the surface of what he wanted to do. He needed something bigger, something more.

To begin with he needed a whole new identity. He needed to be himself, but not. He needed to be able to act naturally, to ignore the drumming, to ignore the memories of the War. He needed to become the Master once again. He headed straight for the wardrobe and picking an outfit proved to be difficult. He wanted to look authoritative but not completely unapproachable, powerful but not too upper class. In the end he settled for a simple black suit with no tie. Looking in the mirror he realised he was younger than he had ever regenerated before, and he looked scared. Time was the one thing he had, a never ending stream of time, but it wouldn't be enough to leave it behind. The Time War would always be there, fresh in his mind. He ran his hands over his face, changing his expression by the time he moved them. He could be powerful again, he could be Master. He _would _be Master. The young innocent look about him would just help him along the way. The suit, thankfully, worked exactly how he wished it to. He was going to fit in perfectly on Earth, which was his next stop.

The Doctor always loved Earth in a way the Master couldn't understand. It was just a water covered tiny little planet full of stupid, closed-minded cowards. He paused at that thought, laughing almost manically to himself, of _course! _The Doctor loved the planet so much because he fitted in there so perfectly. A coward like them. The one who ran away, the one who _always _ran away right from when they were children. He remembered them both being taken to the Untempered Schism, the Master had stayed and watched, amazed and hypnotised by the insane power of it while the Doctor had looked only for a moment before running away traumatised. The Doctor; a healer; the one who made things better, they had been enemies since they left Gallifrey for opposite reasons but the Master had never hated him. Now he did, when the Doctor chose to let fear overtake him and run away when his planet; his people most needed help that's when the Master began to hate him. He was a coward but worse than that he was a traitor. _Doctor? _That was a joke, he hadn't helped Gallifrey, he hadn't even tried. The Master made a promise to himself there and then that if he came across the Doctor, he would teach the coward a lesson he would never forget.

For now, though, he had more important things to do. He set the TARDIS coordinates for early 21st century Earth and sat down, waiting for arrival.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey. Writing means everything to me, literally, and one think that bugs me is when people put a story on alert or favourite it without reviewing, because it doesn't tell me what you liked or didn't like and what could be improved, so please review.**

**Lyrics. x**

**Chapter Two**

The TARDIS landed in London, 2005. Stepping out, the Master was greeted by a typically English day; grey clouds that threatened rain at any moment, and he noticed that the TARDIS was in the shape of a red post-box. He needed to remember that and where it was so he could find it again. He looked around and saw that direction across the road was a pub by the name of King and Crown. Perfect. He wouldn't have to stray too far from it anyway.

Entering the pub it was all he could do not to wrinkle his nose in disgust, the stench of smoke mixed with alcohol was vile, the walls were wallpapered in a dark colour which loosely hid smoke stains, and the man and woman behind the bar both looked as though they had a million and one better places to be. In all fairness the Master could think of at least a million and one better places to be, but he ignored it and took a seat by the bar.

He looked around, noticing everyone in there; there was a group of five middle aged men who were clearly already drunk, talking loudly and laughing louder while drinking the pints in front of them. There was a young woman, around the same age as he appeared, sat on her own at the opposite end of the bar; a young couple sat kissing rather than drinking; a number of people smoking while drinking; and a boy, whose badge declared "18 today" although he looked about 14, with a few friends. He ignored them all and turned back to the bar, smiling friendlily at the barwoman "I'll have a lemonade, please." alcohol had less effect on a Time Lord than a human but he didn't really care for the stuff.

"Sure thing," the woman replied, with a thick cockney accent. As she went to get the drink the Master tapped his pockets somewhat dramatically as if to look for a wallet he knew wasn't there.

"Never mind," he called to the bar woman. "I've forgot my wallet."

He stood up and turned away from the bar. He had only taken two steps towards the door when a voice said "I'll get it."

He turned around and saw the lone woman from the other end of the bar smiling sweetly at him. She was blond and pretty but in a subtle way and she had this look about her which suggested she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. He smiled back at her "You don't have to do that."

"Come on, we're both alone in one of the worst pubs in London" she quickly turned to the bar "No offence" before turning back to him "least you can do if let me buy you a drink"

The Master made a face as though he was unsure before shrugging "All right." he replied and sat back down. The woman sat beside him and paid the bar woman. "So," he started in an attempt to make small talk "what's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?"

The girl blushed though she tried in vain not to, "I could ask you the same question."

The Master raised an eyebrow teasingly "You calling me pretty?"

The girl laughed "I don't think pretty is the right word."

"Really? What would be the right word then? Dashing?" he suggested "Handsome?"

"Cute," she supplied.

The Master's smile faded into over-exaggerated horror "Cute?" he exclaimed. "I am not cute. Puppies and little kids are cute!"

"Uh huh, so what's your name, Cutie?"

"That's a difficult question" the Master said, keeping the teasing tone about his voice. "I answer to many names. What about you? If you don't tell me soon I may have to start calling you Blondie"

"Lucy" she replied. "Are you going to tell me yours or should I stick with Cutie?"

"Lucy. Lucy. Little, lovely Lucy" the Master played around with the, making a point of ignoring her question. "It suits you. So Lucy, what do you do?"

Lucy's smile faded instantly "Nothing." She replied bitterly. Her face changed, all the sweetness which had been in it turned into annoyance, bordering on anger ""Not since I got made unemployed." She shook it off and smiled again "But you don't want to hear about that. Tell me about yourself, the mysterious man with no name"

The Master looked at her with a gravely serious expression; "Lucy, If I told you I wasn't from this planet but I was from a powerful planet called Gallifrey which was recently victim of a war so awesome it makes all of your World Wars seem like pub brawls, you wouldn't believe me would you?" he asked, being careful to meet her eyes the whole time, watching her expression carefully. He hurried on before she had the chance to answer. "Of course I use 'awesome' in its original context"

Lucy's expression told him she was torn between confusion, amusement and, most surprisingly, belief.

"Let me show you something" the Master said, taking Lucy's hand and beginning to lead her out.

Although she looked reluctant she didn't try and stop him. "I should know better than to go off with strange men when I don't even know their name" she said.

The Master stopped just outside the pub down and looked at her "You should" he agreed. "On Gallifrey we don't use our true names, we choose names depending on what we want. My name is the Master"

He watched Lucy's expression carefully, she looked as though she couldn't tell if he was crazy or serious. She didn't reply.

"Is that all right?" he asked, softly.

She didn't answer his question she just asked one of her own "How did you get here?" she voice somewhere between curiosity and scepticism.

The Master smiled again "That's what I want to show you" he replied with the impatient excitement of a school boy.

"Go on then"

The Master's smiled widened and he broke into a run towards the TARDIS, Lucy found she had no choice but to run along with him. He stopped by what, to Lucy, seemed to just be another typical red London post-box. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Step in" he told her.

"You're crazy" she told him, taking a step back. "I wasn't sure before but I am now."

"I may well be crazy, I won't deny that but nothing I've said to you, Lucy, has been a lie." replied the Master. He unlocked the door and pushed it open "What have you got to lose? Come in and if it's just a post-box then call the men in the white van – I even have their number on speed dial – and if it's not then you'll see I'm telling the truth"

Lucy looked torn; there was something about him that made her believe every word he said. There was something about his face which seemed incapable of lying. She stepped in the post-box, something she'd never even thought she'd be doing, only to run straight back out again.

She blinked a couple of times and looked at the Master "Pinch me" she said, "If I'm dreaming, I'll wake up, if it's real, it'll hurt"

The Master laughed, and pinched her, lightly, on the top of her right arm. Lucy flinched, not through pain but through shock that everything was still here. She smiled and stepped back into the post-box. This time the Master followed her.

"It's called the TARDIS, stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space" he explained. "Basically it's a space/time machine. It can go anywhere and anywhen"

Lucy looked between him and the TARDIS controls "You're an alien"

The Master fought the urge to roll his eyes, humans were so slow "Or if you look at it from my point of view _you're _an alien"

"Huh, I never thought of it like that" Lucy admitted.

"You're human, you wouldn't" replied the Master. "Wanna stay? I can show you some things you'll never ever forget"

Lucy still seemed to be in shock about it all. She walked around in awe. A few moments after he asked she registered that he had and nodded enthusiastically.

"Then hold on tight, Lucy, you're in for the ride of your life"


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing, and thanks to Paula for proof reading. Which of cause means any typos are her fault not mine :P R&R, ly'all.  
Lyrics. x**

**Chapter Three:**

The Master set the TARDIS co-ordinates so pedantically, that he probably could have told if they landed a few seconds out, well _appeared _may have been a better word since he wasn't planning to actually land anywhere.

Lucy was watching him and he was well aware of it "So we could end up anywhere" she queried.

"Theoretically, but I know how to control it. I know where we're going" he replied. Lucy's eyes lit up with excitement and he stayed quiet so not to spoil the surprise. Once the TARDIS had stopped moving he said "I promise you, this is a sight you were never forget, Lucy"

He walked forward and opened the doors. Leaning against the open door he waved to Lucy to join him before turning back to take in the view. They were a safe distance above the Earth, just hovering. The British isles was almost unnoticeably small from this distance, Europe, Africa and parts of America were visible while the other side of the world was hidden as though it wasn't even there. Lucy, having joined the Master, gasped in amazement, awestruck by the sight.

"It's beautiful" she commented "so beautiful and yet people are just destroying it"

The Master nodded, the image of Gallifrey in its final hours entering his mind and as it did the drumming intensified. He tried to ignore it as he spoke "Everything gets destroyed eventually, Lucy" he said "Nothing last forever"

Lucy turned to face him, her baby blue eyes were wide and worried, the cynicism in what he said had shocked her, and there was something very innocent about the way she looked "Nothing?"

"Everything dies, everything burns and turns to ash. Everything ends" he told her, meeting her eyes the whole time. "Love turns to hate, friends become enemies, flowers die. It's all pain and suffering and death and burning and hatred and murder. The good never lasts, little Lucy"

She averted her eyes, looking back over her planet, already questioning her decision to leave it. The Master didn't say anything else for a while and Lucy didn't know what to say. She just stared at the amazing sight below her.

Eventually the Master spoke again "We're in the year 5.5/apple/26, 5 billion years after 2005" Lucy couldn't keep the wonder from entering her expression. "In less than a minute, Earth time, the planet will begin to break up. Today's the day the sun expands, and the planet Earth is no more. Poof" He did a hand gesture imitate an explosion.

"No!" wonder quickly turned to horror, and Lucy's innocent eyes filled with more fear than that of a child who had lost their parents. She turned from the planet to look at the interior of the TARDIS, and then at the Master "Can't you stop it? Or can't we… go?"

The Master grinned "Stop it? Why would I stop it? Lucy, this is what the universe is all about. This is what everything is about. It's beautiful, can't you see that. Little, sweet, innocent Lucy, it's so beautiful"

"You're insane"

The Master's grin didn't falter "I never denied that"

"Take me home" Lucy insisted. She tried to step back towards the controls but the Master stopped her.

"Just look" he told her.

"No!" she refused, tried to step passed him. He was right in the way and there was no getting around him "Take me home!" she repeated. He didn't answer, he just grabbed hold of her arms and forced her to face out of the TARDIS. The movement came so unexpectedly and roughly that Lucy let out a little yelp, at which the Master laughed.

He stood behind her, holding her firmly around the waist, forcing her to stay looking out. He lent his head on her shoulder and whispered in her ear "Don't you think it's beautiful, little Lucy?"

"I think it's horrific" she replied and as she did there was a blinding orange light. She was thankful for it as it forced her to stop looking. Despite the fact that he'd done nothing to force her eyes open, Lucy had found herself unable to look away from her planet in its last moments. The orange light, Lucy realised after a moment of living up to her hair colour, was from the sun expanding. This was it. Her planet was breaking up in front of her but she could barely see anything. A single tear ran down her cheek and a part of her was glad the Master was holding her in place because she wasn't sure she would've stayed on her feet otherwise.

The light of the sun slowly became less blinding and once against the Earth visible. Or rather it would have been, had it been anything more that ash and dust floating in otherwise empty space. Lucy gasped. She should've been expecting it but nothing could have prepared her for the empty space where her planet had been

"Did everyone die with it?" she whispered.

The Master laughed, Lucy felt his chin moving on her shoulder as he did so "No" he replied "Humans moved to a new planet, called it 'New Earth' humanity goes on"

"Take me home" Lucy managed to move enough to turn and face the Master "Now!" she didn't sound as strong as she'd hope to.

The Master leaned over her to slam the doors shut before storming back to the controls. Lucy slowly followed him, taking a sear by the console. The Master looked at her before setting any controls.

"Are you scared of me, Lucy?"

She didn't look at him "Yes" she replied, honestly.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"I'm not a bad person, Lucy" the Master told her, staring at the TARDIS controls. He had set them to just hover in the vortex, not in any specific time or plan, just hovering, to the Master it was like being in some sort of void. Some sort of nowhere. "Well no, scratch that, maybe I am. I probably am. It really depends on your definition of _bad. _I don't feel like a bad person, but I suppose that's not to say I'm not."

He shook his head, clearing that ramble away. He became tapping on the console almost subconsciously, _taptaptaptap, taptaptaptap. _"I'm definitely insane, you got that one right, little Lucy. I've got this drumming in my head, this four bar drumbeat. It never goes away. Never stopping, never pausing, never, never, never and it hurts. My god, Lucy, it hurts so much" he looked up and locked eyes with her "And I love it" he ran around the TARDIS and slid into the seat beside her, leaning in too close for her liking "I must be insane, right? I must sound like some sort of masochist but the pain is so glorious. The drumming, the constant reminder. Can't you hear it? It's so loud, can't you feel it?"

Once again he began tapping the four beat, this time using her leg at the drum. She tensed as he did so. As he continued all the crazed energy left his voice and he sounded genuinely curious "Why are you scared, Lucy?"

"I just walked into a post-box and left my planet with a guy, no not even a guy, an _alien, _who is happy to admit he's insane and takes pleasure in seeing a planet blow up" Lucy's voice was a lot stronger than she felt "An alien who calls himself the Master which really should've been enough to stop me coming"

The Master glared at her, the look of anger on his face was so intense that Lucy shrunk away from it "_Humans _are so closed minded. If something is at all different it's wrong or bad or scary." Lucy tried to interrupt but he didn't give her a chance "The only thing you lot are any good for is killing each other. Maybe I am bad because I see beauty in destruction and wonder in pain. But if that makes me bad what does that say about the poets and artists of your planet? What does that make them?"

Lucy stood up, a few steps away from him, the Master stood up at the same time, not allowing her to talk down at him "Poets write about it, artists paint is they don't take people and force them to watch their planet being destroyed 5 billion years before it happens"

"You're clearly not a poet or artist are you, little Lucy?" the Master's question was clearly rhetorical "I wanted you to see it, because it's so beautiful. The way it happens is just so beautiful, it's just like a poem. There's no other way to explain it, can't you see that? Can't you see the beauty?"

"There's nothing beautiful about the death of my planet"

Just for a moment the Master's eyes seemed to show something that wasn't anger or hatred but something softer, regret? Remorse? Lucy couldn't identify it for sure and it was gone within a moment. "That's who I am, Lucy. I can't help it, I've always been fascinated by death and destruction. I'm like a Goth with no make-up. But it's worse now, it's so much worse now. Death and destruction is all there is, Lucy, there is nothing else. If you give it long enough everything stops being… It just stops being. All across the universe there are an uncountable number of wars. Your own country is at war. Your world fights itself so much it's a complete fluke that it lasted as long as it did."

Lucy made no reply for a moment, she had nothing to say about that. She knew there was a lot of war on the earth, and she didn't doubt that it was the same across the universe but she could never look at it that way. It would never just be death, there was everything before death which was beautiful and amazing. When she eventually spoke she simply said "I want to go home."

"I wish you could hear it, Lucy. Little, lovely Lucy. I wish you could hear the drumming" using the first finger on each hand he tapped along on the side of his head, not stopping the whole time he spoke "I wish you could understand it. It won't go away. It'll never go away. It's there all the time to remind me. To remind me that there is nothing but death and pain and destruction. To remind me that there never will be anything more. To force me to remember what I could never forget. To force me to remember what I did" he suddenly fell silent and looked up at her quickly, meeting her eyes and holding the gaze. He was still tapping on the side of his head, the movement seeming to become quicker and more urgent. "It won't let me forget and I don't want to forget. I don't _deserve _to forget. I ran away because I hated it, I caused pain and destroyed things because it went against what they believed in. I wanted to get back at them for the way they treated me, for what they did. I wanted to get back at them, that's why I left, that's why I did the things I did." He steadily became less and less angry, there seemed to be a level of desperation in his voice which increased as he continued to speak "Oh Lucy, I had done some dreadful things. But it went too far. It all went too far. _I _went too far. I never meant to do that. I never thought… I never planned… I never dreamed… Do you understand, Lucy? You must understand. I never meant to but I had no choice. I… It was just one of those things. I had no choice. It had to be done. And I had to do it. _Do _you understand, Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head, "N-no. Take me home"

"Of course you don't" the bitter anger returned instantly. "Of _course _you don't, how could you possibly understand? You're just another one of them. You're just a pathetic little human. You could never understand. Your race is too inferior. I could kill you all if I wanted. I'm not afraid to change the past, after all who's going to stop me? I could change your whole history and destroy your planet in 2005 if I wanted. Or I could go back and destroy it before you were even born. I could make it so that you never even existed."

"Take me home" Lucy repeated.

The Master looked her up and down, as though only just noticing the fear she was feeling, the determination she had to stay strong. "You don't need to be scared of me. I may like danger and pain and destruction, but I promise you I'm not a liar. Nothing I've said and nothing I will say in the future" he smiled slightly "or past" before continuing seriously "will be a lie. And I will never do anything to physically hurt you. I'm not a bad person, Lucy, not really."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Lucy was quiet for a long while, she was trying to process and understand everything the Master had said, but no matter how much she thought about it it still sounded like the insane ramblings of a madman. She wished she could understand, he seemed to need someone to understand. Something about him made Lucy believe him; believe he wouldn't hurt her, believe he wasn't a bad person. Different he definitely was but bad she didn't believe. He seemed so misunderstood to her.

After a while of allowing her to sit completely lost in thought, the Master spoke "Tell me, little Lucy, do you want to go home" He asked "I want an answer now, one you can't take back. If you choose to go home now I'll leave and you'll never see me again and that is a promise. If yo stay here, though, you stay here permanently. Clear?"

"I- I don't want to make that decision straight away. That's a big decision" Lucy told him. "Is that how it is with you? You want something you order it to be so, no time, no grey area?"

"Oh lovely, little Lucy" the Master laughed "I would've thought that much was obvious. I told you, on Gallifrey we pick titles to be known as depending on what we most want. My name is the Master. Now answer me, Lucy"

"I want to see the universe…" Lucy started.

"So you're going to stay?"

"I didn't say that. I want to know what I can go home at any time if I want to ir if I have enough" Lucy reasoned.

"That would be good wouldn't it? To be able to know your planet, your home was there waiting for you to return at any moment" the Master said and Lucy nodded "That's not one of the options. Earth or the TARDIS. Home or away. Go or stay. It's a black and white decision, little Lucy. Like you said, no grey area"

"No, it's not" Lucy disagreed. "It's anything but black and while. It's the biggest decision I've ever had to make"

The Master rolled his eyes "It's not that hard" he was clearly starting to get agitated. "You either want to go home to your boring, pointless, _human _life in London of having no job and no income and because of that no end of stresses. Or you want to stay with no money or income stresses at all but the wonder and destruction of the entire universe just outside of those doors."

"I can't see the universe the way you do" Lucy told him.

"How d'you mean 'can't'?" the Master asked.

"Can… not?"

The Master laughed but it quickly turned into a frown. "No, I meant do you mean 'can't' as in you want to see it but you can't see it with me. Or do you mean you want to see it, here with me, but you don't have the same perspective as me?"

"Um…" Lucy didn't reply properly. She was half tempted to say _both _but she was worried the Master wouldn't take it the way she meant it. Mostly because she wasn't sure how she would mean it.

"Come on, Lucy" the Master pushed "It's one or the other. I'll make the decision for you in a minute and just take toy back to earth."

"No!" Lucy said sharply and quickly. Too quickly. The Master raised an eyebrow and Lucy realised then she had made her decision "I- I don't want to go back to earth."

The Master grinned wildly "Good."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's so short, it's a complete filler chapter. Annoying but necessary. R&R**

**Carly. x**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

It surprised Lucy how quickly she was able to settle into life in the TARDIS. All she really missed from Earth was her parents and she hadn't been that close to them so it wasn't a major loss for her. For the most part she was glad to be away from all the stresses of life, in the TARDIS there was no need to worry about money and jobs and bills and all things like that and it made life a lot simpler. In the TARDIS all that mattered was life. Quickly she came to think of the TARDIS as her home.

At times she felt like she knew the Master, she learn the subtle signs which highlighted the mood he was in, she knew when he wanted her there and when he wanted her to back off. She knew how he acted in each mood and accepted that. But then there were times he would do something new which would remind her that he wasn't human, he wasn't like her and that she would probably never truly knew and understand him.

She loved the life though, and slowly, without ever meaning for it to happen she found herself falling in love with him. She didn't tell him, she wasn't sure how he'd react, she wasn't sure if he could love after all he wasn't human, but it was there and she hoped he knew. At times he gave the impression he cared about her; the times he pulled her to safety in times of danger and at times he even gave the impression of something more; kissing her softly or joining her in bed at night. She knew he must've known how she felt and she also knew that he couldn't feel the same way (that was there when his mood changed) but she didn't care because when he was there with her he was gentle and it was all about her.

He kept to his promise as well, he never physically hurt her. On some level Lucy was aware that she was looking at the Master through rose tinted glasses, she was editing out the bad parts to focus on the good parts, but she didn't care. She knew he wasn't a bad person, she could tell he was haunted but that underneath it all he wasn't truly bad. Yes he showed her some terrible things, took her places so dark she thought she'd never see light again, but he always looked after her, he always made it worth it.

And there was nothing she loved more than falling asleep in his arms, the warmth of his arms around her, close and protective. It was gentle and safe, any anger and darkness he showed in the day was gone when he pulled her into his arms at night until she fell asleep.

The Master smiled down at his lovely little Lucy, sleeping in his arms. She was so sweet in her sleep, as she was when awake, but she was changing. His smile became a smirk, she was beginning to see the universe his way, the right way. Oh it was only subtle, it was barely there but it _was _there, it was rare but sometimes he'd see a darkness in her innocent blue eyes and that pleased him more than all the darkness in the universe. To know that he could corrupt the sweetest, most innocent little human gave him such a thrill.

He slipped her out of his arms and got off the bed. He never stayed, he was never there when she woke up. He wandered into the control room and set the TARDIS for their next destination. He knew Lucy would sleep for a good few hours but he could be patient, for now. He leaned against the TARDIS controls, watching the progression of the journey.

Lucy woke over four hours later to an empty room. She wasn't surprised, just a little disappointed, she always woke alone, but she never stopped hoping that one day he'd still be there when she woke up. She sat up slowly and listened for the hum of the TARDIS, when she didn't hear it she realised they were stationary.

After throwing on some clothes she joined the Master in the control room. He was calm, there was an air of the schoolboy excitement in him that he had when he showed her the destruction of the Earth. Dread filled her but it was tainted with something else, a slight excitement. She ignored it and decided to find out where they were before deciding how to react.

"We're on the northern most point of the planet Hesimika." The Master replied when she asked. His grinned intensified his boyish good looks and Lucy couldn't help but smile back. "There's a neighbouring planet which has reached its use-by-date so to speak, and from Hesimika it's possible to see it crumbling. Not only that but half of Hesimika is populated by the ex-residence of this neighbouring planet and they aren't exactly on the best terms with the Hesimikans." The Master laughed slightly "It'll be amazing to witness, this _this _is what I live for, Lucy."

Lucy's smile faltered slightly, she felt the same mix of dread and excitement that she had when she walked into the control room. She told herself it was just that the Master's excitement was contagious and not that she was actually excited.

"What's the neighbouring planet called?" she asked.

The Master's grin widened as if to make up for Lucy's smile fading. "Of course, it's always good to know where we're watching die" he replied. "It's called Grysten." He took Lucy's hand and led her out of the TARDIS. "C'mon let's go see it."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Hesimika was beautiful, that was Lucy's first thought as she stepped out of the TARDIS into the snow covered forest. She looked around, awestruck by the soft white snow that was falling around her over the tall trees. As she looked up she noticed they were taller than any trees on Earth that she'd ever seen. Snowdrops fell over her and she became aware than she was wearing a short sleeve top.

"It's not cold?" she commented, making it a question, and looking at the Master in confusion.

"It's a different solar system to yours, everything's different." The Master replied, "So yeah, here the snow isn't cold."

"Oh," Lucy said and nodded as if it explained everything.

"Come on, we can't see Grysten from here," the Master said and pulled Lucy along. He pulled her right out of the forest and up a pure white hill, before stopping and pointing up.

Lucy gaze followed the Master's hand and saw it. Grysten looked like a blue dot in the sky, it looked about the same size as the moon looked from the Earth. The Master dropped down onto the ground, lying down and looking directly up, "It's starting, if you look closely you can see it, it's just starting to break up."

Lucy slowly move to lie next to him, looking closely and seeing, as the Master had said, the planet starting to break up. It started slowly, small parts of it breaking away and after just a few moment it exploded, blue rock parts floating in space before they burst into atoms and disappeared. Lucy gasped, the sound small and slightly amused.

The Master grinned, appearing mesmerised by what had just taken place, his eyes fixed on the area of space where Grysten had been just moments before.

Lucy sat up slowly and looked at him "You were right, you know."

The Master didn't move his gaze from the space, feeling the drums quietened by the destruction, "How so?"

"There is something beautiful about the destruction…" Lucy admitted, a hint of regret in her voice. "But that isn't right."

The Master sat up and faced her, "It is. It's all the universe is, little Lucy, it's all pain and destruction. It's all right to see the beauty in it because if you don't there'd be no point in anything."

"It shouldn't be beautiful," Lucy moved her gaze away from him, looking down at her lap, a single tear falling down her cheek, "Hundreds and thousands of people just died and I thought it was beautiful? That's not right. Maybe for you it is, but I'm human, this isn't normal, this isn't right."

"Trust me, Lucy, it may not feel normal but that's only because it's so different. Humans, you're so sheltered and you live your lives so safely but you're different to them. You're seeing the universe in a way they never could, you're seeing the bigger picture." The Master told her, "You can see the truth in it, you're seeing the pain and the suffering and the destruction and the hurt, you're understanding it. And you're seeing the beauty in it which you have to. You _have _to Lucy, because if you don't you'll fall apart."

"I guess…" Lucy agreed, clearly unsure.

The Master moved and put his arm around her, "I'm glad you understand, Lucy. I'm not a bad person, it's just the way the universe is, I'm so glad you can see it my way now."

Lucy didn't reply for a while, she just lent against him. Eventually she said, "It's sad though…"

"The universe is a sad place, Lucy. That's why you've got to make the most of what it gives." The Master replied simply. "I know I keep saying it, but it's true, it's all about the pain and the destruction, but there's one more thing."

Lucy moved her head to look at him, her face a question mark.

"There's one more thing I think makes it worth it," the Master continued, meeting her eyes "Revenge. Vengeance. Before you made the decision to stay, when the drums were bad I said a lot of stuff to you about the War, I doubt any of it made sense, I doubt you can remember much of what I said, so I'm gonna tell you about it again. But I don't want you to think any differently of me."

Lucy nodded and gave him the chance to explain.

"My planet was at War, a Time War involving all the mayor species of the universe but primarily my people, the Time Lords and the people of Skaro, the Daleks." The Master moved away from Lucy, staring into empty space as he spoke, his voice was calm and controlled if a little emotionless. "It was the most horrific war in the universe, I can't explain what it was like and even if I could I wouldn't. I hate even having to think about it, it's that bad. Because it destroyed my planet, my planet is literally no longer there because of that War, because the only way to end the War was to destroy everything. I had to destroy my planet."

Lucy stared at him wide eyed, but there seemed to be a level of understanding in her expression, "That's why you took me to see Earth destroyed."

It wasn't a question and the Master didn't treat it as one, "But there was one Time Lord, one complete and coward, he called himself a hero, he goes around acting like a saviour. But he's the worst of them all. He's a traitor and a coward, he ran away. He left the War, he didn't even try to help Gallifrey, he didn't even _try._ He made out he cared, at one point I actually thought he loved me but then he ran. He left me there to fight in that war on my own."

Lucy stayed quiet, knowing it was best not to make the comment she was thinking, _maybe he was scared? _

The Master continued "And he can't get away with it. Why should he get away with not knowing what it was like when everyone else had to fight in, when _I _have to live with it? He can't. I won't let him."

He jumped up, "Come on, Lucy, we're going to find him."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The Master pulled Lucy into the TARDIS so quickly she almost tripped. There was a crazed, almost possessed look in his eyes which scared her. As soon as he let go of her arm to run to the controls she stepped around the console and sat on the nearby chairs, watching as the Master tore around the controls, wildly pressing buttons as if it was the most important thing in the uniderverse, and Lucy could tell that for him it was.

The Master stopped suddenly and stared at the screen with his back to Lucy. Lucy watched him, and noticed that he was tapping the drumbeat against the console excitedly, "Come on, come on," he muttered, impatience clearly growing in him. He waited another moment, "COME ON!" the sudden change to anger shocked Lucy so much she gasped in shock but the Master didn't notice, he was too busy thumping the console to try and speed it up. "Finally!"

Lucy turned her attention from the Master to the screen but the writing passing across it was moving too fast for human eyes to make sense of. Almost nervously, as though unsure whether she should interrupt him, she whispered "What is it?"

The Master turned to face her, his expression suggestion he had forgotten she was there. It cleared after a quick moment though and he grinned at her, "This? Lucy this is so brilliant it's crazy. C'mere"

Lucy got up and stepped towards him, he wrapped one arm around her waist and moved to stand behind her, leaning his head on her shoulder and pointing at the screen, "You can't understand it but this is my TARDIS tracking the only other TARDIS left in existence. That of the coward that is the Doctor," he spun Lucy around to face him, a grin fill his face, "This is it, Lucy. This is really it, this is my payback, this is my vengeance," he kissed her quickly and ran around the TARDIS. Once again wildly pressing buttons, unaware of her staring after him dumbstruck.

The Master laughed slightly, the sound both amused and bitter, "He's on earth, what a surprise."

"We're going to Earth?" Lucy asked, her voice filled with shock and hope but the Master didn't even hear her.

"He always loved your pathetic excuse for a planet, guess we have to return there to find him," the Master pressed a few more buttons, "What is it they say on that oh so popular show? 'Locking coordinates'," he hovered his finger over the final leaver, "engage," and pulled it down shocking the TARDIS into movement.

Lucy stared for a moment before muttering, "You've watched Star Trek?"

V

The Doctor was walking hand in hand with Rose Tyler along a mountain. It was Earth, although Rose had taken a lot of convincing before she believed it, "But it's too pretty to be Earth," she had argued, to which the Doctor had told her that she was underestimating her planet. Once she had finally believed him the Doctor had gone into a long ramble about the history of the mountain, which Rose had decided to ignore preferring just to stare around in awe.

"And basically, they all died a terrible horrific death." The Doctor concluded.

Rose turned and stared at him, "What did you say?"

"Oh so you were listening?" the Doctor said, a smile growing on his face.

"Of course I was listening, Doctor, I always listen to everything you say," Rose replied with a hint of sarcasm, causing the Doctor to roll his eyes.

"You _should,_" he told her, "This place, it's just fantastic."

Rose laughed slightly, "To be fair, Doctor, we could be in a deserted, wet, dirty back street and you'd probably say it was fantastic."

The Doctor grinned, "Because it would be. Open your eyes, Rose, see what everyone else misses. There's amazing things everywhere you look."

"And you never know what's right behind you, do you, Doctor?"

The Doctor spun around to find the Master standing right behind him. Lucy and Rose regarded each other, both remaining quiet, Lucy aware that she was too big for a human to comprehend and Rose trusting the Doctor to sort out any problems that might occur.

"Master," the Doctor said, quietly. His voice made it perfectly clear how shocked he was to see the other Time Lord. Without moving his eyes from the Master gaze he said, "Rose get out of here now."

"Why? Who is he? What's going on?" Rose asked.

"Aw but Doctor," the Master replied in fake shock, "You don't want your human blonde missing out on the fun. I mean I'm not going to make Lucy miss out, why should… Rose, you called her? Why should your pretty English flower have to?"

"Rose. TARDIS. Now," the Doctor insisted.

"Or you can just ignore me and I'll just stand here patiently waiting for the English flower to make up her mind," the Master rolled his eyes.

The Doctor turned to Rose, "You trust me?" Rose nodded, "then go now. I'll be there soon, I promise."

"Aw, that's sweet, that's real sweet," the Master laughed. He looked directly at Rose, "He won't be there soon, he won't be there ever." His laughter turned maniacal.

"I'm not leaving you," Rose insisted, ignoring the desperation in the Doctor's eyes.

The Master grinned. "the English flower has spoken, she's staying, more fun for me," he pulled what appeared to be a yellow and grey screwdriver out of his pocket, pointed it at Rose and a moment later a yellow laser light shot out of it and killed Rose on the spot.

The Doctor screamed in horror, and stared at the Master with sadness written in his eyes but only anger in his voice, "That was unnecessary."

The Doctor took a threatening step towards the Master which the Master instantly turned to his favour. He grabbed the Doctor's neck with both his hands and quickly tightened the grip around his throat, squeezing the life out of him as he struggled. He only let go when the Doctor stopped struggling.

* * *

**A/N So in this chapter I killed Rose Tyler and the ninth Doctor. Who hates me? The Doctor bit was planned, that's been part of the plan since I started Vengeance. Rose however, was supposed to run to the safety of the TARDIS, but no she had to be loyal, she had to amuse the Master. Sorry Rose fans. R&R anyone?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Is that is?" Lucy asked, clearly unimpressed, looking from the two bodies on the ground to the Master who was smiling smugly at them, "Find him, kill his friend, kill him? That was your great revenge? Wasn't it a bit… quick."

The Master laughed slightly and smiled proudly at Lucy, "You think?" he asked, rhetorically, "No, no, no, Lucy, this is not my great revenge. This is simply the first step, not stand back," he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back a couple of steps just before the Doctor's regeneration started.

Lucy stared, shocked into silence as the Doctor seemed to explode into flames, an orange light coming from his head and his arms. She watched carefully and saw his body shape changing, hair growing where it before hadn't been. She wanted to ask what was going on but she couldn't bring herself to speak, she was too awestruck by the sight.

The regeneration finished just a moment later, the man the Master had killed completely transformed. The Doctor – Lucy assumed it was still the same person – sat up slowly and gasped quietly at the sight of the dead Rose beside him. He quickly scrambled away from it, standing up and staring at the Master, tears pricking at his eyes.

"Long time no see, Doctor," the Master said before punching him square in the face, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. The Master laughed and turned to Lucy, "That normally wouldn't work so easily but he's still weak from the regeneration. Now, help me get him into the TARDIS."

V

The first thing the Doctor realised when he woke was he was in a TARDIS, the quick second realisation was that it wasn't his own TARDIS. His thoughts quickly went to Rose, where was she? And it was only a moment later that tears pricked his eyes as he remembered what had happened to Rose. Opening his eyes, he looked around and found he was in a small empty room just a little bigger than a prison cell on Earth. He tried to move but found himself screaming in pain instead. A metal collar was around his neck and sent a jolt of electricity through him when he tried to move. He realised then that there were metal cuffs around his wrists as well, all of which were holding him to the wall.

A quick moment after the Doctor screamed, the Master came in smiling broadly, "Aw, Doctor, you didn't try and get away did you?" he pouted overdramatically, "And there I was thinking you'd be glad to see me."

The Doctor noticed the human standing half beside, half behind the Master and briefly wondered how he should think of her. The Master's friend, companion, lover, slave? With the Master he could never tell but as far as the Doctor could remember the Master had never had a human travel with him, why would he start now?

"Aren't you going to say anything, Doctor?" the Master asked, an amused smirk playing on his face, "I've known you a long time and it's not like you to stay quiet," anger entered into his voice, "Come on, _speak. _Let us know what's going on in that treacherous mind of yours."

The Doctor looked beyond him to his friend (the Doctor settled on friend for now) and the Master cut in before he had a chance to say anything, "And when I say speak I mean address me, your Master, not poor little Lucy here."

The Doctor glared at him, "Well you just-" he broke off and cried out in pain.

The Master laughed, "Now you see, that thing around your neck? It's going to shock you if you so much as move too much or if you speak, because I don't want to hear anything that you have to say, d'you hear me?"

The Doctor did nothing in response, he just looked beyond the Master to Lucy, wondering about her. Why was she there? And more importantly, he thought somewhat selfishly, could she help him?

"I'm going to take that as a yes," the Master said after a brief silence. He turned to Lucy, "Leave us for a while," Lucy nodded and walked out without arguing despite the clear confusion on her face. Once she was out the Master turned back to the Doctor, "She's not as innocent as she looks, but she's still delicate. You'd know all about delicate humans, look at your English flower."

"Don't ta-" the Doctor automatically went to shout back, but quickly broke off as the shock came and he winced in pain.

The Master laughed, "I was tempted to gag you to shut you up, you know. But this is clearly a much better idea, it's going to be amused to see how many times you cause your own pain. Anyway, where was I?" he couldn't keep the smirk off his face, "Ah yes, Lucy, she's very much like your English flower, delicate, pretty, not really wanting to see what's going to happen to you. She's not quite ready for that yet."

The Doctor watched the Master, thinking this through. What did he meant by not quite ready? It took the Doctor a moment but then it clicked. The Master was trying to corrupt Lucy, trying to make him as dark and messed up as he was. His eyes widened just slightly with this realisation but he had the sense to stay quiet this time. His mind then briefly wondered what was going to happen to him but he knew he would find out soon enough and there was no point dwelling on it beforehand.

"Maybe I'll bring her in later, once I've explained to her better why you deserve this, maybe then I'll let her see how far I'm willing to go to destroy you," the Master continued, thoughtfully, shrugging slightly as though he wasn't really sure what he would do. The Doctor knew from experience though that this was more a sign that he had a detailed plan of what he would do. Not that the Master being sure or unsure was more or less of a comfort. "Because I swear to Rassilon, Doctor, you are going to deeply regret what you did."

The Doctor looked down to he didn't have to look at the Master anymore. He wanted to tell him that he was already living in regret. Despite him staying quiet, though, the Master read it in his face.

"And that's sweet that is. Are you sorry, Doctor?" the Master asked, now glaring in anger, "Because I can tell you, it makes no difference. You're still the biggest traitor Gallifrey's seen. You still deserve to be punished. I still deserve my revenge. And believe me I'm going to enjoy every moment of it."

* * *

**A/N: The metal collar/electric-shock/no taking thing? Yeah I didn't plan that. I don't even know where that idea came from. I guess that's what happens if I'm allowed to be writing fanfic between 1 and 2am.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The Master left the Doctor alone for a couple of hours, during which time the Doctor forced himself to stay perfectly still despite the discomfort wanting him to move. He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to kid himself that he was somewhere safe, somewhere where he didn't need to move. He wished he could still his mind in the same way he could still his body, wished that he could just stop thinking.

He thought about the Time War first and foremost. The level of fear and confusion he had felt that had caused him to run. He had been terrified, the type of physical fear that stops a man from doing anything worthwhile. He had never been as scared as when he had arrived on Gallifrey at the beginning of the War. The scenes he had witnessed then had been horrific, had burnt on his mind and that was just the beginning, there was no way he could stay. The Master's last words before leaving the room were going around his head, "You're the biggest traitor Gallifrey's seen," he wondered if he meant that. Although, in truth he knew he did and that it was true. He had left Gallifrey when the planet needed every man, when Gallifrey needed all the help it could get he had ran. He couldn't fight though, it didn't feel right and he knew he could never explain that to the Master, never justify it. He thought about the Master and why he was doing this. It was connected he knew that much. The Master had hated him for years and years but leaving the Time War made it a lot worse, a lot deeper, a lot more unforgiveable. The Master wanted to destroy him for the treason he committed by running and part of him could understand why. He thought about Rose and a single tear ran down his cheek. She had cared for him so both and in the end it had got her killed. He'd got her killed. Jackie had warned her to be careful, to stay safe and he'd promised he's look after her, that he would keep her safe and he had broken that promise in the worst possible way. He thought about Lucy, the girl with the Master. Why was she with him? What had the Master done to her? Was it free will or not?

"Don't cry, Doctor," the Master said softly.

The Doctor had been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard the Master come into the room. The shock of a break to the silence and the Master seeming to suddenly appear right in front of him caused the Doctor to physically jump, causing a shock to run through him. He winced at this and the Master laughed just slightly.

The Master wiped the stray tears away from the Doctor's face roughly with his thumb, "And when I say don't cry, I mean; don't cry until I make you cry. Because I will make you cry."

The Doctor stared at him defiantly, silently.

"Nothing to say?" the Master taunted, "Shame. But then I've already made you cry haven't I? So many times. Most recently with your precious English flower."

The Doctor didn't respond in anyway.

"Would death make you cry again, Doctor?" the Master asked, not expecting or receiving an answer. "I mean I have other stuff planned which'll have you in floods but that's for later. Right now I have a show for you. A special only going to happen once show especially for your eyes. You ready for this Doctor?"

The Doctor just continued to stare at him with the same glare set in his face.

"You should be, Doctor, this is your first chance to see it," the Master continued, clearly excited.

There was no mistaking the unspoken question in the Doctor's eye,_ See what?_

"What you ran from, this is your chance to see what it was like," the Master elaborated, "Except of course it was much worse than what you're going to see. It's a start though. It'll probably be enough to break your fragile little hearts." He turned to the door, "LUCY!"

Panic entered the Doctor face, "What are you-" he broke off, his face screwed up in pain as he forced himself not to scream.

The Master simply laughed at him and waited for Lucy to appear. She did just a moment later, looking at the Master confusedly. The Master smiled at her, "You trust me, right, Lucy?" he asked with an innocent expression only adding to the fear the Doctor was feeling.

Lucy nodded "Of course."

"Do me a favour, stand over there," he pointed to an spot an equal distance between himself and the Doctor, "facing him not me," he specified.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"Just do it Lucy," the Master told her and Lucy did so.

She looked back at the Master momentarily, but his glared caused her to face the Doctor again. She noticed the regret written in the Doctor's face and panic built up in her. She did trust the Master, he had promised her he wouldn't hurt her physically and she believed that. For the most part, watching the Doctor's expression now she was less sure. Fear made her want to look back and see what he was doing but she didn't want to annoy him since he was clearly already angry so she continued looking at the Doctor.

"You're a coward, Doctor, a complete coward but you're not going to get away with it," the Master knew he was repeated what he had said before but he wanted to re-illiterate his point. "Gallifrey deserved better from its children. It deserved people who would defend it, who would fight for it. People who would try and protect it."

The Doctor was watching the Master carefully, silently trying to work out where he was going with this. He avoided looking at Lucy not liking her involvement in this, this was regarding them as Time Lords, nothing to do with a human.

"And you can't get away with this, Doctor. I am all that is left of Gallifrey now and therefore it falls on me to distribute your punishment. It falls on me to avenge Gallifrey, to avenge _myself._"

The Doctor wanted to point out that he never cared much for Gallifrey before the War, he wanted to ask what he meant about avenging himself, but he forced himself to keep quiet.

"What's wrong, Doctor? Nothing to say?" the Master asked, smirking at him, "Nothing to say. You don't want to defend yourself? Maybe that's because you know I'm right, you know you deserve this. Or maybe you're too scared. Maybe you really are just a complete coward. Are you so afraid of the small amount of pain that would come from talking? Is that why you ran, Coward?"

"Rambling makes… you sound… crazy." the Doctor asked, wincing between words as shocks ran through his body.

"Oh you can talk?" the Master laughed. "Shut up now. Maybe you're right, maybe I am insane. I got this drumming in my head, this drumbeat. 1234, 1234, 1234," he tapped on the side of his head along with the numbers. "And I know what it is. I know why I have it. It's the heartbeat of a Time Lord. It's all that's left of Gallifrey, the constant reminder of what I had to do. It won't leave me alone, Doctor, it won't go away, it just gets worse and worse and worse. And I can remember it, Doctor, I can remember the War, I can remember all I had to do, all that happened to me. And now it's time for you to get a taste of it."

The Doctor didn't attempt to answer this time, he just wanted for the Master to make his move.

"I think it's only fair you feel it as well. Every other Time Lord did. Everyone else felt it. Everyone one died for their planet. It's time for you to hurt for Gallifrey," the Master pointed his laser screwdriver in Lucy's direction and the Doctor's eyes widened in fear, causing Lucy to tense. "Time you saw what happened."

After pressing a few buttons to find the right setting, the Master fired the screwdriver in Lucy's direction and a piercing scream escaped her mouth, continuing the whole time the screwdriver was pointed at her. The Doctor's eyes became wider and wider, silently pleading the Master to stop this, pleading the Master to hurt him if he had to but not Lucy. It was nothing to do with her.

"It was mostly innocent victims, Doctor. It was all about hurting people, for the hell of it because we could. Hurting them as much as possible but not actually killing them for the longest time." The Master explained, pressing a button to increase the pain that was soaring through Lucy.

She fell to her knees clutching her head desperately. She was still screaming, it was as though it was beyond her power to stop. The Doctor could see the pain written across her face, the tears starting to stream their way down her cheeks. He could see the way she was looking at him, pleading for him to help her even though she knew he couldn't.

"Stop it!" he shouted, not caring about the shock that ran through him because of it. "Let her go."

The Master laughed at the desperation in the Doctor's voice, "You feel helpless don't you? I never understood you, Doctor, why you care so much for pathetic creatures like humans, but I think I get it. It's because you're just like them, pathetic and cowardly."

Lucy turned to face the Master, still clutching at her head. She was crying helplessly, desperation written on her face, "Please stop it. PLEASE!"

"No," the Master replied simply, "No, I'm afraid this can't end."

"Please I can't bare it," Lucy begged, "It hurts. It hurts so much, I can't bear it. STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!"

"Is it too much, Lucy? Is it really too much?"

"Y-yes," she struggled through her tears, "Please. I trusted you. I believed you wouldn't hurt me. Please stop it."

"Oh lovely little Lucy, has your time with me taught you nothing?" the Master queried. "You should never trust anyone. Everyone goes back on their word. Isn't that right, _Theta?_"

The Doctor stared directly at the Master, shocked into silence by the use of his old name. He hadn't heard it in so many centuries and it surprised him how much hearing it hurt.

"He would know better than anyone. You see Lucy the universe is full of liars and cheats and murderers. It's full of Wars and destruction and it never really ends. It never goes away," the Master continued. "Do you want to die, Lucy?"

"I want it t-t-to stop hurting," she stuttered. "Please."

The Master shrugged and smiled slightly, "All right," he said simply. He changed the setting on the laser screwdriver and pointed it at her again, "Say n'night lovely little Lucy. Night. Night." He pressed a button again and a final short lived scream came from Lucy which echoed on long after she died.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"There was no need for that," the Doctor shouted, ignoring the pain that soar through him as he did. He gritted his teeth tightly, aware of the Master's amused expression at his attempt to speak through the pain. "You wanna hurt me, hurt me," he breathed deeply to stop himself wincing from the pain, forcing himself to continue with what he needed to say. "There's no need to bring others into it."

"But you obviously weren't listening, my dear Doctor," the Master replied, his voice calm and controlled. "The War was all innocent victims. The War was made up of watching people who had done nothing wrong killed slowly and painfully while you were helpless to do anything about it."

"The War had nothing to do with humans!" The Doctor insisted, "They would never have been involved, they're deaths were pointless. You judge me-"

"Don't even go there," the Master told him in a warning tone. "I judge you because you, because you turned away from your planet when it needed everyone it could get. You're a traitor. Every judgement you get you deserve."

"And where's Gallifrey now?" the Doctor asked quietly, his voice full of pain, which mostly had nothing to do with the shock collar.

The Master stared at him without answering for a long moment. The answer clear on his face, the answer clearly known from the Doctor tone. The Doctor needed to know though. "Don't," the Master told him. "Don't pretend you give a damn. Don't pretend you care. It's too late to care now." The Master stepped forward and smacked him across the face. "You're a hypocrite!" he hit him again, "You're a liar. You deserve everything that is coming to you. All those Time Lords, all those innocent victims, they didn't deserve what happened. They didn't deserve any of it. I'm not going to pretend I didn't enjoy parts of it, because I did, I relished in the pain and the torment, but it was wrong. It was so wrong. THIS isn't. I'm going to relish in hearing you scream and cry and beg because of me. Because it's what you deserve. It's a fitting punishment. You want to know what happened to Gallifrey? Where it went? Let me tell you all about it, Doctor. Let me see if you, the precious Doctor, the saviour, the healer, the one who makes everything better, let me see if you can make THIS," another hit, "better."

The Master pulled a key out of his pocket and removed the collar from around the Doctor's neck, before undoing the cuffs and removing as well. "If I were to tell you about the all-consuming fire that threatened Gallifrey's existence. The all-consuming fire that I ended. I stopped the War. I stopped it. I made it better for everyone. D'you want to know how? Go on, ask me how?"

The Doctor was rubbing his wrists gently once he was freed, he looked up at the Master, almost scared to ask, scared of the answer, "How?"

"By destroying it," the Master said, laughing hysterically.

The Doctor stared at him, hearing the words but not quite computing what they meant. He couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that the Master was saying that Gallifrey had been destroyed. "What?" he said, eventually very quietly. "What do you mean?"

The Master laughed again, "Let me explain in simple terms. Gallifrey is gone. I destroyed it. I stood on the edge of the Time War, seeing it safe in the Time Lock and watched it burn and explode. Imagine that for a moment, Doctor, imagine it. The great and powerful Gallifrey exploding at my hands. And then just…." He mimicked and explosion with his hands, "gone. As though it was never even there. Brilliant isn't it."

"You're a monster," the Doctor told him.

The Master slapped him and hissed, "And you're a traitor."

"You're accusing me of treachery towards the planet that you _destroyed," _the Doctor retorted, "Which of us is the real traitor?"

The Master punched him clear in the face and the Doctor winced before glaring at him again. They both ignored the Doctor's now bleeding nose and the Master told him, "You are because at least I tried. I hated that planet, I hated everything they did, everything they stood for but I still fought. I still stood side by side with the Time Lords and did everything I could to protect that planet because that was what was right. That was my duty. That's what everyone did, regardless of personal feelings. Except for you. Why?"

The Doctor didn't reply, he attempted to move away from the Master, but the Master grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "Tell me _why? _What could possibly be a good enough excuse for you to turn your back on Gallifrey when it needed you the most?" The Doctor remained silent, "I saw people we knew in that war. So many of them. People who remembered us from old. People you should've been fighting with, you should've been protecting. Your Dad."

The Doctor forced himself not to react but couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly.

"Your brother," the Master continued and the Doctor gasped. "Oooh, that got a reaction," the Master added in amusement. "Yeah, I saw your brother, he really hadn't changed since the Academy had he? Do you want to hear about it?"

The Doctor stayed quiet, knowing that however he answered the Master would still do what he wanted. The Master smiled, "See you weren't very good at the whole being quiet thing when it was hurting you, yet apparently you have nothing to say now. Oh well, you just stay quiet and your Master will tell you a nice little story.

"I fought alongside your brother for a long time. Both of us glad for someone familiar, someone we knew to fight alongside," the Master eyes clouded over as he started talking, "The War does that you see, it makes you cling to whoevers there because if you're alone then you are _completely _alone, and vulnerable and that makes you weak. No one can bear to be weak. Weakness would bring us down. Weakness would kill us. Strength was in groups. Except, your brother was weak. Almost weaker than you. I guess weakness must just run in your family, don't you think?"

The Master paused, giving the Doctor time to comment on that but the Doctor didn't. The other was too busy watching him in horror, wishing he would just continue. The Master sighed, "This silence of yours is rather dull, Doctor," the Master told him, "Nevertheless, story to tell. Where was I? Oh yes. Your brother was weak. He gave in to the Daleks. He betrayed Gallifrey, he agreed to join them, to help them. Because he was _scared _of them. Pathetic. Traitor. I guess treachery runs in your family as well," the Master tutted, "Honestly, how would your Father feel with you two as sons? But anyway, my point. Your brother was a traitor, and in a War which was quite literally take no prisoners treachery could not be accepted. Your brother had to be dealt with. Know where this is going?"

The Doctor had a clear idea where this was going by he stayed quiet, the fear and dread written all over his face.

"I can see it in your eyes, Doctor, you know what I'm going to say," the Master teased. "Your brother was a traitor so I killed him."

**A/N: My apologise for being so long in updating. Thank you so much if you've stuck with me and I'll try and update faster now.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"You bastard," the Doctor didn't used such strong language often, and even now it was so quiet, full of horror. The Master simply laughed, his amusement growing as a tear ran down the Doctor's cheek. Quickly, stubbornly the Doctor reached up and wiped it away. "You complete monster." He moved away from the Master and slid down the wall, sitting with his knees at his chest and his arms around his legs, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

"It's funny though, isn't it?" the Master commented, crouching down beside the Doctor. The Doctor wouldn't look at him, he just stared straight ahead. "You give more of a reaction to your brother's death personally than the death of the entire planet as a whole. It's funny how we prioritise."

The Doctor didn't reply for a long while, he was trying to get his head around this, trying to understand the situation, what happened. He couldn't imagine his brother betraying Gallifrey, but then again his brother probably wouldn't have expected him to just run away like a coward. The Master watched him, seeing him trying to make sense of all of this and smirked.

"You can't comprehend it can you?" the Master asked, moving onto his knees, "Let me help you understand."

The Doctor turned to look at him, wondering what he meant and that was all the Master needed/ He grabbed hold of the Doctor's temples, tightly. The Doctor struggled but there was no way he could get out of the Master's grip. He looked at him wide eyed, silently begging him not to do this, but the Master ignored him. He forced himself into the Doctor's head, and the Doctor couldn't stop himself from screaming. His mind was protesting, everything hurting. He fought against him, using everything he had to trying to force the Master out.

_Oh Theta, don't bother _the Master spoke directly into the Doctor's mind and he momentarily froze.

_Don't call me that _he replied harshly, and got his senses back and continued struggling.

The Master growled lowly and looked around the Doctor's mind, explaining as he did so, _I live with the drums now, this constant four-bar beat in my head that never stops. A constant battle, can you hear it? Can you Doctor? Listen._

The Doctor could, he whimpered slightly, still trying to pull away, his hands over the Master's trying to prise them off his head, but it was in vain. _Taptaptaptap, taptaptaptap, taptaptaptap, _it hurt. It hurt more than that the pain of the Master forcing his way in, because it seemed to feed on that pain, work on it, make it worse.

_I live with that all the time. I fought in the Time War before that. Don't ever think you're strong enough to fight my mind. _There was laughter in his voice, he was mocking the Doctor's weakness. Even more amused when the Doctor didn't stop fighting against him. He sighed in over-exaggerated exasperation, and numbed everything in the Doctor's mind just to get his attention.

The Doctor's mind went still and he went quiet. The Master started by manipulating the Doctor's mind, making him think he was ok with this, that there was no need to fight. The Doctor stopped fighting and he had no choice but to let the Master look at whatever he wanted to, do whatever he wanted to.

_That's better, _the Master said with a smirk, _Now, are you sitting comfortably? Good, then I shall begin. _

The Master's mind was very controlled, he had learnt to hide what he didn't want to think about, he had no choice when it came to working with and against the drums. He pulled out the one memory he needed now, and forced it into the Doctor's mind.

_The Doctor's brother was on his knees, staring up at the Master in pure fear. Tears were running down his face, freely, unstoppably. He was muttering something about being sorry, about how it had been a mistake. The Master had never really taken any notice of the words he was saying, just the state he was in, the state of everything around them. All around them, everything, was fighting, fires, bombs, guns, death. _

_The Master kicked the Doctor's brother. The other Time Lord was already weak, too lost and scared to fight back. He simply fell back and slowly attempted to get up. The Master didn't let him though, simply kicked him back down. He kicked him repeatedly, not caring about his screams and begs. Eventually he stopped and pulled him to his feet, slamming him against the nearest wall._

_"Gallifrey doesn't need traitors," he snarled, pulling out a knife and stabbing him directly in one heart , watching the blood pour out of him and his life start to dwindle. He pulled the knife back out, smirking, keeping hold of him, waiting for the orange glow of regeneration to start. Once it did he pushed the knife into his other heart, killing him during regeneration. Permanent death. Perfect. He grinned and let his lifeless body fall to the ground, kicking him once more for good measure before just leaving him there._

The Doctor was shaking by the time the Master finished showing him his brother's death. He tried to pull away and this time the Master let him. He couldn't stop the tears that were running down his face, he made no effect to speak, he had nothing to say. He closed his eyes, his head in his hands, trying to block out everything he had just been forced to witness.

"That was the war," the Master told him harshly. "Well, no, that in comparison to a lot of it, was friendly. I only stabbed him, if the Lord President had got hold of him?" the Master just laughed, knowing he didn't need to fill in anymore. "Oh but I enjoyed it. Everyone enjoyed it. Even you would've enjoyed it."

"I'd never enjoy killing," the Doctor spat, through his tears. He swallowed a couple of times, trying to force himself to pull himself together. He sighed shakily. "Stop this," he said simply.

"Are you begging?" the Master asked, amused.

"No!" the Doctor insisted instantly.

"Good, because I've barely even started yet.

**A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long. I blame uni, Christmas, uni again, and then Steven Moffat.  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**I wasn't going to continue this - it's been around about 10 months after all - but the idea of leaving it unfinished was bothering me too much. If you're still reading, you're amazing. I'm not expecting anyone to. But here's the next chapter**

**Chapter 13**

The Master's words created a feeling of terror within the Doctor so deep that he felt as though he would be sick. This man, this man who had once been his best and only friend. This man who had been his best enemy, the only one who could out smart him. This man who always seemed to appear randomly. The Doctor had never been scared of him before. Perhaps a trifled concerned, but never outrightly scared, not like he was now. The Master had always been a genius, an evil - or rather misguided genius - but now he was an angry and vengeful genius. An angry and vengeful genius with the power to tear him to pieces if he so wished to. There was nowhere the Doctor could go, no way of getting away. Rose had been killed, that Lucy had been killed and bigger than all of that, the whole of Gallifrey.

The image the Master had sent him, the sight of his brother's death wouldn't leave the Doctor's head. He didn't recognise his brother's form, had never seen him in that regeneration, but he knew it was him of course. He always knew. The death was horrific, the blood the pain. Swallowing, the Doctor tried to put it from his mind, focus on the present, what was going on around him not in his head.

As he did so, he became aware of the Master undoing the collar that was around his neck and letting him down. He was grateful that he as able to move without being shocked now, but except for getting to his feet and finding his balance, he didn't move much, watching the Master carefully, he couldn't be sure what the other was going to do and he couldn't risk anything. The Master wasn't playing with him or the universe for fun anymore, this was serious. The Doctor wasn't sure he was going to get out of this alive, he wasn't sure he'd be able to talk him down.

The Master's expression was cold and hard as he looked at the Doctor. He was tapping the beat of four against his side as he was watched, trying to think through what to do next. The truth was, he didn't have a plan, he didn't want one, he wanted to hurt the Doctor and he wanted to do it in anyway that came to him, not some ordered plan. War wasn't ordered, revenge shouldn't be either.

Slowly he reached for the Doctor's head again, "Hold still, Theta," he murmured. He knew how much the Doctor hated his old name. He knew it reminded him of the old days, before they were enemies, before Gallifrey was lost. He knew the Doctor couldn't bear to remember that. It was a simple and minor way of getting to hm, but the Master was willing to take anything that he could get.

He let himself into the other's mind, not intruding, just looking. The Doctor was so guarded, most things in his head where hidden behind locked doors. The Master didn't know them and the Doctor had pushed them so far away that he didn't think about them anymore, but the Master was about to open them up. Door by door the Doctor was faced with everything and everyone he had ever let down, everyone he had hurt, everyone who had died for him or because of him. Everything that had happened in his name. This form of the Doctor was weaker emotionally that many of the previous regenerations had been. The Master fondly remembered the one who was trapped on earth, that Doctor would never have betrayed Gallifrey.

The Doctor's body couldn't deal with and he fell to his knees, only staying that far up because of the Master's hold on his head. The pain from within his mind was all consuming. Tears streamed down his face for nothing in particular and everything.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" the Master's voice was light and taunting. The Doctor's pain was helping with his own. "You want to do something to it, you want to make it stop, you even think that even death would be better than the pain you're currently going through."

Letting go of the Doctor suddenly, the Master stood up. He looked down with disgust as the other fell into a crying heap on the fall. The Doctor swallowed, staying very still except for the odd shudder running through his body. On some level he was aware of how he should prepare himself for the next attack, but his mind was hurting too much for him to really be able to do anything about it. His eyes were tightly closed and he tried to make sense of the fragments of his mind. He felt like a puzzle in a box. All the pieces were there but the Master had taken them, shook them up and now he had the job of piecing them back together.

"And it never stops," the Master continued. The Doctor heard the words, but it was just words. A string on words in a sentence, but nothing more than that. He couldn't register or make sense of the meaning. "It never stops. There is no pause. There's no time to dust yourself off and prepare. Oh no, no no." He kicked the Doctor harshly in the ribs, enjoying the wince of pain that caused in the other but not as much as he had before.

The drums were quieter now. There were still there, but it was more like a steady backing beat, than the harsh loudness of a chorus. And when the drums were calm, the Master found himself calmer. Hurting the Doctor had made him feel better. He liked that, smirking to himself, he ran a hand through his hair. The Doctor was quite literally his to do with whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was going to make the most of this. He was going to make this slow and painful. He wasn't going to kill him, no, no, no, that was too predictable, too easy. The Master didn't want him dead, he wanted thim to understand. He wanted the Doctor to see everything of the Time War, the way he had had to.


	14. Chapter 14

**I have no words for how long it's been. I got out of the habit of writing fanfiction and just came back looking at everything on here tonight and couldn't bare to not finish the story. The next chapter will be the last.**

Chapter 14

The Master left the Doctor for a while then. He went around the TARDIS, refamiliarising hi,self with the place. She wasn't happy to have him there but that just amused him more than anything. The Doctor remained on the floor, too weak, too pained, too tired to try and more or fight. The Master always knew the Doctor was pathetic, he was the weak one, the good one, the one who didn't kill but let the other's kill for him. Oh the Doctor was as bad as the Master, worse, even, the Master though it could be argued because at least the Mater knew what he was, knew what he was doing. He had seen in the Doctor's head all the people who had died or killed for the Doctor. All the weapons and monsters the other had created.

The Time War did the same. It created weapons, it created monsters out of good, decent people. It was amusing almost to see the way there was not purely good in anyone. Everyone had the bad in them, everyone had the space to enjoy the pain and suffering. It was too much, too loud, too painful. He wanted it to stop. The noise in his head that came after the war, he wanted it to go and leave and never return. He found himself leaning against one of the walls in one of the TARDIS corridors after walking aimlessly lost in his thoughts. It was always there. taptaptaptap, taptaptaptap, taptaptaptap, it wouldn't leave wouldn't pause, wouldn't go away. It hurt, it controlled his every movement.

The War would never leave, the Master was sure of it. And he was glad of the control. He needed the control and he knew control all there was of Gallifrey left. This TARDIS, himself and the Doctor. He could destroy Gallifrey completely if he wanted. He had done it once, killed billions of Time Lords and Gallifreyans and Daleks and countless smaller, insignificant planets and species. They wouldn't be missed in the way Gallifrey would be. No one would care.

The Master walked back through the winding corridors in order to return to the control room and to the Doctor, who was still lying there on the ground. The Master realised the other wasn't still there crying. Whether he was asleep or passed out the Master neither knew nor cared about. He took hold of the Doctor's head again, entering gently. He wanted him to see.

He showed him the streets, the cities, it showed them burning. He showed the Doctor a time when he had been stood on one of the creat mountains, just looking across and watching the large cities burning. There was the overwhelming colour of orange, the sun, the flames. Everything was just there burning. People screaming and dying, looking like mere ants from the distance the Master stood. He watched, he winced and cried and laughed at the pain and suffering everyone was going through. The same he was going through. Nowhere was safe during a Time War, but there were moments that were safer than others and this was one of them, here he was able to watch, like a God.

It had been from there that the Master had made the decision to kill them, all of them. It was then he had decided that Gallifrey was to be no more. And the decision had filled him with equal relief and glee. He knew the Doctor would wake remembering this like a distant memory rather than a dream. The Doctor would feel this as thugh he had been responsible for it. Gallifrey's biggest traitor deserved that after all. He let the Doctor see how he had gone to find the Moment, how he had fought the president and eventually left in his TARDIS.

He showed the Doctor the thing he knew would hurt hi the most. The Master stood by the TARDIS door as the Moment was activated, as the flames on the planet grew, as the planet itself seemed to swell out until. BOOM. Gallifrey was nothing more than ash and debris floating in dead space between two lonely suns.

The Doctor seemed to jolt awake then, blinking weakly up at the Master. His eyes wide and confused, seeing both the Master here in front of him and through the Master's eyes at the empty space where Gallifrey should've been. He shuddered weakly feeling tears pricking at his eyes. He knew what had happened, he felt it, remembered it. And it hurt. It hurt deep through both hearts and the Doctor was sure there was nothing that could make that stop hurting, though he desperately needed it to do so.

"Koschei..." he said, weakly.

The Master let go of his head but that didn't stop the images, they were a part of his mind now. They couldn't be stopped or taken away. "Don't call me that." The Master replied, bitterly and got to head feet. "Don't even speak," he hissed.

The Doctor moved himself to sit up, with his back against the wall, but didn't attempt to try and get to his feet. The Master was pacing up and down in front of him, tapping the beat of four against his lap. "I understand now," he said, softly. In his mind he knew it was wrong to destroy a planet, there would never be a time when that was an acceptable action, and that was conflicting with the part of his mind that felt the Master's feelings at doing it and understood exactly why. He felt he would've done the same and he felt that it was still the most horrendous act. There was no happy medium here.

The Master swung around to face him again, "No, you don't." he hissed. "You can see parts of it, you can feel why I did it, but you do /not/ understand," he spat at him. "You cannot even begin to understand, you runaway coward." The Doctor sighed, what was there left that he could say. He watched the Master carefully as the other moved to his knees in front of him. The Master leaned forward and stroked the Doctor's cheek gently.

"I know exactly what's going to happen now, Thete." he told him, almost gently.


	15. Chapter 15

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"Chapter 15:/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Relax, Theta," The Master's voice remained soft but relaxing was the last thing the Doctor could do with the Master knelt in front of him like this. He couldn't relax with the images of Gallifrey, the War, the end in his mind, repeating themselves, refusing to leave./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The Master moved his hand from the Doctor's cheek, placing both of them at his temples, causing the other to flinch, but the Master's grip was too tight to stop the Doctor getting away. Closing his eyes, the Master opened a connection with the Doctor's mind, unwanted it ripped through the Doctor's guards, causing a searing pain to rush through the Doctor's mind and body./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I told you to relax, it won't hurt if you bloody well relax," The Master snapped the words out loud./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/Get out of my head, Koschei/ The Doctor spoke directly into the connection. He wasn't fighting anymore. As much as he didn't want it, he knew the Master was right. The more he fought it, the more it would hurt. The connection wasn't designed for torture. It had been designed for intimacy. It took the Doctor back, back to a time before hell broke loose. Back when they were just children, old enough to understand their feelings, young enough not to realise the pain that was in store for them. Koschei and Theta before the Master and the Doctor. But this wasn't then./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/Shut up/ The words weren't harsh. It almost unnerved the Doctor more than the Master was being so soft now. He knew what the Master was capable of, but he couldn't see what he was planning. There were walls in the Master's mind hiding everything and the Doctor was too weak to break them./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/What are you doing?/p  
p class="MsoNormal"The Master was quiet and still for a moment. Not invading the Doctor's mind, just sitting in it. Resting almost. He didn't look at anything in the Doctor's mind, just found a calm somewhere in the back of it, that he couldn't find in his own. A calm he knew the Doctor didn't feel, but a calm that had always been there, even when they were young./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Slowly, the walls in the Master's mind came down. He controlled it, stopping the rush of thoughts, emotions, plans, counter plans from running into the Doctor's head. He moved them in in a way that the Doctor would be able to understand. He showed the Doctor exactly what he planned to do./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/No, you can't. We are Gallifrey now/ The Doctor panicked as soon as he saw it. He mentally shook his head. /Koschei, you can't./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/Gallifrey is gone. Gallifrey was poison. We can rid the universe of its poison/ The Master said, his voice cold, emotionless, with no room for doubt. /Theta, honestly tell me you think this is a bad idea/p  
p class="MsoNormal"The Doctor hesitated. He wanted to tell him exactly that. He wanted to list reasons why it was stupid but he couldn't. What reasons were there? Gallifreyans had destroyed, killed, they were a plague. The Master was a killer, a destroyer and the Doctor knew he was no better./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/Exactly/ The Master hissed./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/Let me help/ The Doctor's voice, even internal was almost silent./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The Master almost laughed, but it wasn't bitter, almost disbelieving. /Who thought this would be how it would end?/p  
p class="MsoNormal"/We did/ The Doctor countered. /On Gallifrey, we knew we would end together. We always knew./p  
p class="MsoNormal"/Shush, T./ The Master said./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The Doctor did go quiet. Instead he lifted his hands, placing them on the Master's temples. The Master didn't struggle and the connection strengthened. Everything was heightened between them, everything they could already see and feel was cranked up to 11./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Everything was felt, everything was seen. The Doctor and the and Koschei. Every thought, every memory. Every love, every hate, every pain, every insanity. Both of their minds joined, both of them silently bringing them everything that their mind couldn't bear./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The four beat. Taptaptaptap. Taptaptaptap. Taptaptaptap. It ran between their minds, getting louder with everything that came up. Neither of them spoke, neither of them moved. And eventually neither of them minds could take anymore./p  
p class="MsoNormal"An explosion ran through their minds, destroying everything in its path. A rush of Time Energy escaped them, hitting the TARDIS wall, destroying her. The Doctor. The Master. The TARDIS. All lifeless. Theta and Koschei, the last children of Gallifrey were no longer./p 


End file.
